SUPPORT HB2581 HD1: Stop Abuse of Emergency Powers
/On Wednesday, February 18 at 2pm in room 325, the House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee will hear HB2581 HD1 which would stop the abuse of emergency powers by the governor and mayors.
Please take a moment to support this measure! Sample testimony and instructions below.
What this bill does
HB2581 HD1 would more clearly define what constitutes a “disaster” for which the Governor’s and mayors’ sweeping emergency powers can be used to address.
Why this is important
HB2581 HD1 would ensure that executive branch leaders do not arbitrarily call long-standing and complex societal challenges, such as unaffordable housing or illegal activity, as “emergencies” in order to suspend our environmental, cultural protection, good governance, procurement, and labor laws indefinitely - as the Governor attempted to do with his emergency proclamation on (un)affordable housing.
Sample Testimony for HB2581 HD1
Aloha Chair Belatti, Vice Chair Iwamoto, and Committee Members,
My name is [your name] and I STRONGLY SUPPORT HB2581 HD1.
As we have seen in Hawaiʻi and across the continent, the survival of our democracy may hinge upon a meaningful separation of powers, one that includes keeping legislative and judicial “checks and balances” against executive overreach. Unfortunately, executive leaders may not always have the same level of respect for this foundational limitation on their authority, and may be tempted to use emergency statutory authorities to create, amend, or suspend policies that should be developed through the democratic legislative process.
Recent circumstances have highlighted the vulnerability of Hawaiʻi’s own emergency powers statutes to potential misuse by local executive leadership. This includes an emergency proclamation on housing that initially suspended numerous environmental, cultural, good governance, public transparency, procurement, and labor laws, to purportedly support housing construction without any affordability or meaningful residency requirements. While the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court recognized that this did push the limits of the Governor’s emergency authorities, the potential still exists for a future executive to attempt to use long-standing and complex societal challenges – such as unaffordable housing or “illegal activity” -- to declare an emergency and thereby indefinitely bypass the checks and balances that protect vital public interests, including in our environment, cultural integrity, and democracy itself.
This measure accordingly provides common sense definitions of “disaster” and “emergency” along with modest guardrails to better protect against the misuse of executive emergency authorities, whether now or in the years and decades to come. Please, do not wait for a constitutional, civil, or environmental crisis before adopting the critical guidance proposed in this measure - by then, it may be too late.
Accordingly, I urge the Committee to PASS HB2581 HD1. Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Testimony instructions
Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email).
Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.
Enter “HB2581” where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."
Input your information, select “SUPPORT”, write or copy/paste your testimony, and select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Please consider providing verbal testimony (in-person or remotely) if you are able!
Note: Virtual testimony option may be disabled 24 hours before the hearing.
If you are testifying via Zoom, be sure to review these instructions (page 4).
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